


Performance of... Well, They Tried At Least

by Arytra



Series: Section 123 [10]
Category: Sesame Street (TV)
Genre: Fix-it fic, Fluff, Gen, Ridiculous amounts of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-17 01:43:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14822834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arytra/pseuds/Arytra
Summary: When three-year-old Gabi fits into Cinderella's slipper, Penelope gets the help of the Amazing Mumford to convince the Lady in Waiting that she wants to leave the street so that the Protectors can keep everyone connected to the Prince out.





	Performance of... Well, They Tried At Least

**Author's Note:**

> Episode 2943 is extremely creepy. Pretty much, only the very first part of this fic follows the episode and the rest of it fixes the episode quite a bit. With magic.

David stood there just staring at the speaker as if he expected what they had to say to change if he waited long enough. Maria was clutching Gabi to her, seemingly in near shock and Luis stood to her other side. There was silence for a minute until David finally spoke up. “Excuse me?”

“Prince Charming wants to marry the girl that could fit this slipper,” the Lady in Waiting explainedt again. He'd heard the first time, but he was still trying to adjust to the fact that this was indeed still happening. David looked at Maria and Luis and then back at the lady.

“She's three,” he informed her. “She's not getting married when she's three.”

“Well of course not! She has to grow up first!” The Lady said with a chuckle.

“Have you lost your mind?! Do you have any idea how many laws you're breaking?!” David asked and Luis leaned over to grab his arm and hold him back. “We are not letting you marry our daughter off! She's a little girl! Not a chair!”

Luis shrugged. “We had more respect for the chair,” he said quietly, putting his other hand on Maria's arm. Maria shot Luis a look and held Gabi more firmly.

“We appreciate the offer...” Maria started, just wanting them out of her house.

“No we don't,” David argued. Maria shot him a look. “You're trying to get them out nicely. I'm telling them get out of our house! Now!”

“I have a job to do,” the Lady said, trying to stare him down. Maria looked at Luis and the two looked at the Lady.

“Get out!” They said together and the Lady looked taken aback. It didn't take her long to figure out that she was not going to be able to handle this on her own.

“I'll be back later,” she said and stormed out. David locked the door.

***

Penelope headed over to where Bob was sitting outside of Hooper's and leaned against the table, careful not to drop the box in her arms. He glanced up from reading the newspaper and groaned. “You're spoiling Gabi,” he warned.

“How do you know it isn't for Miles?” She asked playfully.

“Because you brought him a chocolate babka yesterday. Does Mr. Hooper know what you're doing?” He asked.

“He encourages it,” she answered. “He's taught me how to cook several more desserts even. Besides, all of you will get to decide when she can have it. It's better than when I make her egg cream and she has to eat it right away.”

“Penelope...” Bob warned though he was doing a terrible job masking his smile. Penelope already knew she had him on her side. It was why she had gone to him first so she would have someone to hide behind when the other five turned on her. Plus, she was pretty sure that Bob just got amused at watching Penelope's often stern professionalism absolutely melt away around Miles and Gabi, just as it had with Big Bird.

“And it's two days before Valentine's Day. I put a card with it and it's better for it than the so-called candy they give kids to eat in stores which tastes like chalk,” she said firmly Bob went to respond when something caught Penelope's eye. “That's an unusual guest.”

Bob turned and looked as well. “Must have been for Maria, Luis, or David. Susan and Gordon are out right now.”

Both shrugged toward each other and headed over to where the lady was standing, glaring up at the apartment. Bob took point. “Can we help you?” He asked.

“I was supposed to be getting Prince Charming's intended ready for his arrival!” She exclaimed. “But her guardians made me leave.”

“Intended?” Bob asked.

“Guardians?” Penelope added. The two looked at each other and then back toward the lady.

“Gabi?!” They asked together.

“Soon to be Princess Gabi,” she sniffed. Penelope took a step forward but Bob pulled her back.

“Will you excuse us a minute?” Bob asked, hissing a “You'll drop the babka” to Penelope to get her to follow.

“Did she just say that Prince Charming was trying to marry your three year old daughter?” She demanded.

“I think she did,” Bob answered. “But you know there's no violence on the Street.”

She sighed, but nodded. Getting herself locked out until she could convince the stupid magic that it was completely within the 'doing the right thing' clause or until Mr. Hooper stopped laughing at her long enough to let her back in was not the best plan. She set the box down and brought her hand up to her mouth in thought. “We need her to leave Sesame Street and then you guys can shut them out, right? Lock the proverbial door?”

“Right,” Bob said. “But she's not really doing anything right now so we can't really shove her out.”

Penelope looked over at her and then at Bob. “Go do whatever you guys do when you're locking someone out. I'll get her to leave.”

“Penelope,” Bob warned and Penelope sighed.

“You have my word I won't touch her,” she said. “And since you're going to be seeing everyone anyway, please take the babka.”

Bob picked it up and looked at her. “What are you going to do?”

“I'm going to get someone to help me persuade her!” She answered, running off. She knew exactly whom she needed to go to for help.

***

“Mumford!” Penelope said, sitting down next to him. “You're a hard magician to find sometimes.”

“Hello, Penelope,” he said. “Is there something that the Amazing Mumford can do for you today?”

“There is,” Penelope said, doing her best to sound both friendly enough and professional in what she was about to ask him. “There's this prince who wants to marry Gabi and the Lady in Waiting isn't leaving after David, Maria, and Luis asked her to. I was hoping that the two of us could convince her to get out of Sesame Street. Plus it would probably help make up for making Maria quack for a full day.”

“I would do it just to help Gabi,” he answered. “What's the plan?”

“We're going to have to pretend to make you scarier than you are,” she answered, sounding apologetic for what she was asking of him. For all of his mistakes at times, there was a reason that Penelope tended to make that part of his paper 'disappear' and that was due to his downright amiable nature. “I need you to do a small trick to show that you can do magic. And then we threaten to make her disappear.”

“What sort of trick?” He asked. Penelope bit her lip and sighed.

“Since it's not fair for you to be the only one we make out to be worse...” she said and whispered into his ear.

“My dear, it's brilliant! And I, the Amazing Mumford, will make it happen!” He said, shaking her hand. Penelope just nodded.

***

Both of them walked up to the Lady in Waiting and Penelope looked at her. “Maid!” She said, using her anger at the situation toward amplifying her voice and hopefully her performance. “What you said about the Princess Gabriella angered me! I, Penelope, the.... uh.... Empress of... Unionized Evil Beings... sure, that'll work... has already claimed the Princess Gabi once she is grown to work at my side as my assistant of evilness!”

She leaned back toward Mumford. “How am I doing?” She whispered.

“Your performance is magnificent,” he assured her. She was absolutely certain he was lying.

“And to show you how I mean business, my partner the Amazing Mumford will show you just a taste of our power by showing my true colors!” She said.

“And now for an outfit more fit an evil empress,” he agreed. “Ala Peanut Butter sandwiches!”

Penelope waved away the smoke and looked at her very pink dress. “I don't think Glinda will inspire that terror we're trying for,” she hissed.

“A minor mistake,” he assured her. “Ala Peanut Butter sandwiches!”

The red hood and onesie caused Penelope to force back the groan. “I don't think Wendy the Good Witch will either,” she informed him.

“One more try,” he said. “Ala Peanut Butter sandwiches!”

She waved the smoke away a third time and was pleased to see a replica of Malificient's costume. “This will work,” she whispered to him before turning back to the lady. “And now you have seen my power and the power of the Amazing Mumford! Leave now or we'll force you to disappear!”

“I don't get paid enough for this!” The Lady in Waiting exclaimed and took off toward the boundary. Penelope was certain that she as well as Prince Charming were firmly locked out at this point. She looked at Mumford and nodded to him before hearing clapping behind her. She turned around to see Big Bird jumping up and down clapping as well as half of the rest of the kids on Sesame Street. She also saw all of the Protectors standing and watching in amusement. Gabi was clapping her hands in excitement with all of her parents gathered around her as Maria held her in the middle. David whispered something to Gabi which made the little girl giggle even more which most likely was at Penelope's expense, as Olivia just laughed into his back. Linda signed to Bob and Luis on the other side, which Penelope could easily translate being at her expense which both of the men tried not laugh over. Penelope groaned, pulling off her hood with the fake horns and trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Elmo liked it when Penelope was red like Elmo!” She heard the small monster exclaim.

“Me thought best part was when Penelope was pink,” Cookie disagreed, starting a slight argument among the varied monsters and children over which of the costumes was the best. Mr. Hooper just looked at her in bemusement.

“Empress of Unionized Evil Beings?” He asked.

“I thought you were some sort of always prepared super agent,” Gina teased.

“I panicked!” Penelope exclaimed, leaving out the part that it was a lot easier to be the big bad super agent when you weren't hampered by magic making you be nice. “We forgot to rehearse that point!”

“I don't want to hear about our stealth skills for a while,” David told her.

“You're welcome on rescuing your daughter,” she said dryly. Maria handed Gabi to Luis and gave her a quick hug.

“Thank you,” she answered. Penelope nodded and reached her arms out, pleased when Gabi reached out from Luis to let her hold her. Penelope bounced her a little bit.

“Hey Gabi,” she said. Gabi pointed at her hood.

“You had horns!” She said.

“That's right. Did your parents show you I brought you some babka?” She asked.

“Penelope!” Five voices rang out and she was nearly certain that Linda would be signing the same thing. Penelope ignored all of them.

“I think we deserve it,” she said with a nod that Gabi shared and she headed upstairs. Dealing with a sugar-high toddler would be a good revenge for their teasing.


End file.
